


Who has seen the wind?

by Samsonet



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: For your consideration: Rose and Magnolia basically co-parented Leon and Sonia, Gen, Rose is a bit of a bastard here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:09:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22236877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samsonet/pseuds/Samsonet
Summary: “Sir,” Oleana says. “Professor Magnolia wishes to see you.”Professor…?He speaks before he himself realizes it: “Send her in. Please.”And sure enough, there’s Margaret Magnolia, in the flesh.
Relationships: Magnolia-hakase | Professor Magnolia & Rose | Chairman Rose
Comments: 3
Kudos: 49





	Who has seen the wind?

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Christina Rossetti's poem of the same name.
> 
> Credit for parts of Rose's backstory -- particularly his first name and family -- goes to @psybexm! Thank you!

The sun sets, but Wyndon does not grow dark.

That’s thanks to Rose: his companies, his stadium and tower, the energy from his plant and the work of his hands. He keeps Galar shining. He keeps Galar safe.

_You will not be around forever._

That’s what keeps him up at night. That’s what’s keeping him up on this night, the night before the semifinals. That’s what’s keeping him on the top floor of Rose Tower, pondering the sleeping legend in Hammerlocke and whether it’s too early to summon his champion.

“Sir,” Oleana says. “Professor Magnolia wishes to see you.”

Professor…?

He speaks before he himself realizes it: “Send her in. Please.”

And sure enough, there’s Margaret Magnolia, in the flesh. Her posture seems more pained than the last time he saw her, but she is still using the same Corviknight cane. Legend says that if the Corviknight fly from Wyndon, Galar will fall — 

“Elijah,” she says.

“Peggy,” he replies. The name is rusty on his tongue. Maybe he doesn’t deserve to call her that, anymore, with the distance he’s allowed to grow between them. “Er… have a seat?”

He rarely has need for his desk or the comfortable chairs, but at the moment he’s glad to have them.

Magnolia picks a chair and settles down, dignified as a queen. “I have some concerns.”

“Concerns? What for?” Rose asks, taking his place opposite her.

(When they’d been young and hungry, when Mustard was still champion and no gym had even heard of Dynamaxing, they used to speak to each other across kitchen tables. Peggy’s concerns were mere puzzles, then: _how will you get enough space for two Dynamaxed Pokemon at once?_ , or _how are you going to get the league to accept something so potentially dangerous?_

He’d answer each one optimistically, perhaps bordering on wishful thinking — but his actions always spoke louder than words, and he solved her every puzzle with some practical demonstration. 

He had been so carefree, then.) 

“I watch the news like everyone else, you know,” Magnolia says. “I’ve seen the wild Dynamaxed Pokémon, and I know what caused them to appear so suddenly.”

She doesn’t know. She has theories, maybe, but she can’t _know_.

Or so he hopes.

Her eyes bore through him. “Elijah, are you still trying to recreate the Darkest Day?”

“I’m doing what needs to be done for the region—”

“Oh, don’t give me a speech. Just answer the question.”

How does she expect him to answer, then? He has the talking points; they’ve worked on his board of directors, on Raihan and Hammerlocke, on Leon himself.

But Magnolia has always been hard to please. 

If only she would _understand_.

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

She does not break her stare. “And you intend to use Leon to contain the beast.”

“Why not? He’s more than capable of it.”

She doesn’t reply. Rose is not sure what she could say, anyway. After all, he is the chairman of the league, the owner of Macro Cosmos, the man who keeps Galar running day after day. She is only a professor; a brilliant one, but with no influence outside her limited circle. She doesn’t even have Leon’s ear anymore.

She owes more to him than he does to her. Without Rose, Magnolia’s power spot detector would have remained nothing more than a novelty. _He_ was the one who used it to find the places to build the stadiums. _He_ was the one who introduced her to Oleana, allowing the Dynamax Bands to be invented. A lesser man would not have given them the chance to accomplish such things. Rose did.

Yet she keeps him pinned with nothing but the disappointment in her eyes.

Once upon a time, things had been different. Once upon a time, Leon and Sonia were Galar’s rising stars, and Rose and Magnolia supported them like proud parents. Once upon a time, they had all had the same goals in mind. Once upon a time…

“Don’t speak so carelessly, Elijah. You know the danger that Eternatus represents. Will you be arranging for him to have assistance, at least? It should be similar to a raid battle; you’ll need at least three trainers besides Leon.”

She used to say that raid battles were a way of bonding with human partners as well as Pokemon.

“But isn’t it more impressive to have one hero take down the monster by himself?”

He immediately knows it’s the wrong thing to say.

“ _Impressive._ Is that what this is about? Your love of spectacle, your obsession with story. You’ve already set up Leon as Galar’s hero and king. Would it take away from that to have him accept any kind of help? What would your father say? What about your sister?”

“Don’t try to use my family against me, Magnolia.”

“No man is an island, Rose. Remember, Leon has a mum and a younger brother. Don’t you think they’ll be devastated if your plan goes wrong? Or do you truly believe they’ll be comforted if you tell them Leon died a hero?”

He splutters. She stares.

“It… That doesn’t matter. It _can’t_ matter. Personal tragedy means nothing when the future is at stake—”

“Like hell it doesn’t!”

She’s leaned forward, nearly out of her seat. Rose blinks. Magnolia leans back.

“That’s the problem with you. You act like one person alone can change history, but you completely ignore the fact that one person _is still a person._ Someone with flaws, someone with dreams, someone with a family. Leon is a human first and a hero second. And I’m terrified that you’re about to send him to certain death because you need a _good story._ ”

She’s —

She’s —

She’s —

She’s right, of course. She always is.

He loves a good story, always has. From telling his little sister fairytales to arranging the ascent of the unbeatable champion, Rose has always had a talent for it. And yes, sometimes he does forget that most people live in the now, with its ephemeral concerns.

But her being right doesn’t mean Rose is _wrong._

There is a crisis on the horizon. It grows closer every day. He may be taking dramatic action now, but this way he will ensure that Galar will shine even a thousand years into the future. This ensures that his name goes down as the one who made it happen.

His and Leon’s, of course.

Leon knows what he’s getting into. He is not a naive child anymore. He’s made his choice, just like Rose has made his. He’s not going to let some scolding get in the way of his plans.

He sighs.

“Alright, Professor. You’ve convinced me. When I summon Eternatus, I’ll make sure Raihan is there as a safeguard. Does that satisfy you?”

She lets the silence hang.

He honestly doesn't know what he’ll do if she doesn’t back off.

Finally, mercifully, she speaks. “It will have to, I suppose. Just…”

“Yes?”

“Don’t push Leon too hard, alright?”

When she says it, her voice isn’t that of a former business partner or a stern teacher. She sounds like… a concerned parent. It's rich. She's not the one who has been here for Leon lately.

From there, Magnolia takes her leave. Oleana walks her out.

Rose remains in the office.

Damn it all.

Once, they’d been almost like a family. Once, they'd built things together. Once, they’d been happy.

But that was before they drifted apart.

It’s too bad.

It’s too bad that Peggy wanted to keep her lab in Wedgehurst. Too bad that she didn’t move to Wyndon like everyone else. She could have remained by his side, like Oleana did. She could have seen his plans as they were happening, and she would understand. Maybe she could have had a place in history, herself, and not taken her granddaughter and left greater people to do the work.

_A pity._

Outside the tower, the Corviknight carry passengers out of Wyndon. In the distance, the Dynamax dens send up red warning flares.

Rose stands at a turning point in history, and he will not let this chance slip through his fingers.

**Author's Note:**

> Magnolia, watching Rose interrupt the champion match: Arceus fucking dammit, Elijah.


End file.
